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Dirt cheap budget basses
- Thread starter whirlwind
- Start date
I got a name that no one has heard of (and in my opinion under valued) Bass Collection Jive bass, it ain't really cheap as it's £300 that would be around $500 I guess but then again price rates for guitars in the UK are horrid. So it's not cheap but it's £200 cheaper than a Fender Jazz MIM (in the UK) It just plays so great my only issue is it's horrid headstock otherwise I'm more comfortable with this than I was with a normal fender Jazz. I think give it some new pickups or pre-amp and it will be God.
+1 on the Turser. I bought a '51 P clone a few months back, mainly because I needed a neck for another project. GC had several new ones in the used area (overstock, no warranty, sold as used) for $89. The neck is actually a highly-figured maple with good fretwork and no need for a level, etc. The body and hardware are solid, especially for the price. So, basically I paid $89 for a killer replacement neck and will sell the loaded body on Ebay for enough to recoup a good chunk of the initial price 
SX by far, amazing gear for an amazing price. I'm currently rocking out on a 6 string brice from Rondo. It's stock (For now, mwahahaha), but all the gear from Rondo is open to being modded out to fit your exact needs. Kurt is a great guy too. Throw him an email if you have any questions. He replies to every email he gets.
mwahahaha), but all the gear from Rondo is open to being modded out to fit your exact needs. Kurt is a great guy too. Throw him an email if you have any questions. He replies to every email he gets.
I'm crossing my fingers that in Sept/Oct Kurt will get restocked with a bigger selection of colors for the SX Ps & J basses... I missed out on being able to choose from some of the better colors they had (the sage green, LPB). Some of the pics that show up around here are quite GAS worthy, but I'm already getting another black bass (Fender Blacktop Precision) and I've no interest in sunburst or natural basses at this point.
Yeah, I'd like to nab one of their Douglas 6-string basses when they get back in, if they ever do! I already have one of their fretless 6s and it's actually a really nice instrument...several of my friends with much more expensive 6s have been very impressed.
I wish I had found out about Rondo sooner as I just recently discovered they had an SX EBMM style bass but discontinued it as EB filed some lawsuit or something. I found a few on ebay for a decent price..
Actually, The Bass Collection was a good, some would say great bass... by those in the know. I have 2 (fretted and fretless) Nanyo-licenced SX copies of their SB301 (the 2 white ones below, all of them have the Bass Collection shape, but only the white ones are licensed copies), and I love them!
On the headstock, well, I love the headstock too! It is elegant in its lack of ornamentation while achieving straight string pull with minimal mass. I consider the headstock a thing of functional beauty!
Well, let me make you feel a little better. I knew about SX and was regularly on Rondo's site when those showed up... and I slept them, I've always been a big Jazz style fan. By the time I got enough curiosity to get one they were gone... and they never came back.
I learned an important lesson from that error: at SX prices, if I THINK I MIGHT be curious aboout a new model, I get it! And that lesson served me well a few months back when they got an SX 6 string passive Jazz style bass. As SOON as a positive review showed up, I snagged one! Best $149 I've spent in a long time!
The SX world was more exciting, IMHO, when Kurt made stocking basses a priority. These days, I see far less stock than in yesteryear. Esp. short scales.
The good news - these days there Are other options for good budget basses, outside of the SX world.
Cort, Squier, Ibanez, and Yamaha all make some shockingly great basses for low dollars.
The good news - these days there Are other options for good budget basses, outside of the SX world.
Cort, Squier, Ibanez, and Yamaha all make some shockingly great basses for low dollars.
Despite all the bad press I have read about OLP stuff, the MM3 five string Im playing is setup incredibly well with nice low action, stays in tune wonderfully even with the original tuners which I was told were "horrible", not in my experience. About the only thing really lacking is that the OLP MM pickup is a bit muddy, but definitely passable. Im even throwing around buying the 4 string version, music go round in Duluth Mn has its 4 string twin in stock. 
I love my lefty 6 string Davison bass. $200ish on ebay.
Modded the passive J style electronics w/ a Bart preamp & its been so much fun to play, my custom shop J hasn't come out from under the bed to a gig in a year.
Modded the passive J style electronics w/ a Bart preamp & its been so much fun to play, my custom shop J hasn't come out from under the bed to a gig in a year.
Wow this thread got me looking into cheapo basses and looking as the SXs I ran across, and now have serious GAS for, a Brice AL short scale...hmmm, do they come in natural?!
...I learned an important lesson from that error: at SX prices, if I THINK I MIGHT be curious aboout a new model, I get it! And that lesson served me well a few months back when they got an SX 6 string passive Jazz style bass. As SOON as a positive review showed up, I snagged one! Best $149 I've spent in a long time!
Hahaha, well I feel the same about my Brice 6. Snagged it two days after they came up and wouldn't you know it a week later they were gone. So glad I did because it's the absolutely one of the best 6s I've played in ages!
Hahaha, well I feel the same about my Brice 6. Snagged it two days after they came up and wouldn't you know it a week later they were gone. So glad I did because it's the absolutely one of the best 6s I've played in ages!
I couldn't agree more about Rondo. I snagged an SX jazz bass a couple of years ago just to have one for back up and maybe project modifications. Turns out, it sounded so good through my amp when it was delivered that it has become my go-to bass in my collection. It's stock except for the fender jazz bass bridge that replaced the stock bridge. The Fender bridge held set ups better than the stock bridge. Other than that, I love my SX
I feel the same about my Douglas WOB826 six string bass as well.
My best budget bass came from a pawn shop. USA Peavey Fury for under &100. I could have spent less if I had wanted to, but I actually like that instrument.
Got a Brice 6, a Douglas 6 and a pre-lawsuit fretless 4. All are fantastic for the price. Kurt wrote back within a day to questions i had on each. Rondo just added some 6s this week- their 6 selection had shrunk down to almost nothing, but seems to be on the rebound.
I've had a lot of luck with budget-level Yamaha stuff. I have a 270F Fretless bass and some kind of $100-ish acoustic guitar, and both are pretty great for the money...
